Breakfast
Summary: Five post-finale drabbles from Karen Hayes's POV. Spoilers for 5x23 and 5x24.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Fox and Imagine Entertainment.
Rating: PG
Author's Note: Please note that I am giving my own interpretation to the wedding ring Karen wears. It's my belief that she is a widow, although of course there is nothing in canon to back me up on this.
1.
"Do you want to stop somewhere and get breakfast?" the driver asks.
Karen stares at him through the medium of the rearview mirror.
I was thinking of getting some breakfast, before going on home.
She remembers the way he lit up when he smiled, the way her heart skipped a beat, the yearning she felt to say the hell with bureaucracy.
And suddenly she can't do it. She can't leave without saying good-bye.
"Turn around," she says. "We need to go back to CTU. I forget some things."
Maybe he'll still be there.
Maybe it won't be too late.
2.
When she gets there, CTU is in chaos. It's the last thing she expected, and she stands there uncertainly at first.
Chloe is still in her jacket, typing furiously while she glares at satellite photos. Phones ring constantly. People move smoothly from one station to another.
Bill stands beside Chloe, the calm center of the storm. He is on his cell phone, talking quietly to someone on the other end while still managing to give orders to those around him. He glances up, sees her, falters, then continues speaking.
Karen walks up to him. "How can I help?" she says.
3.
"Audrey Raines called. Jack is missing," Bill says.
Karen just stares at him for a moment. If it weren't for the controlled chaos in CTU right now, she might almost wonder if he is joking.
Chloe has her jacket off now. Her ex-husband is walking toward her, a puzzled frown on his face. Even on such a short acquaintance, Karen already knows that Chloe will order him to leave; there is nothing Chloe wouldn't do for Jack Bauer.
"I'll make a few calls," Karen says.
First will be the call to Division. It's time to get Bill and Chloe reinstated.
4.
By the time she finally hangs up the phone, Audrey has returned. Pale, disheveled, a nervous wreck, she paces the floor, back and forth.
Karen has to turn away. She touches the wedding ring she still wears. Remembers what it was like to love someone so strongly. Wonders if she will ever feel that way again.
Looking around, she feels rather superfluous now. Unnecessary. Despite the frenzied activity, CTU is running smoothly. Order has been imposed. Everyone has a job to do, and everyone does it well.
And all it took, Karen thinks, was the right leader to take charge.
5
"I'm going to go," she says.
Bill looks surprised. "Why? We need you here."
She shakes her head. "No, you don't. You have everything under control. I'm only in the way."
"That's not true," Bill insists. He looks exhausted, but she knows he has no intention of going home. Not as long as he can still do his job. "Karen, please." He manages a small smile. "Don't forget, you sent all of my people home."
She relents. Of course she does. She never wanted to leave in the first place.
This is where she belongs. Here. Now. With Bill.
END